Linger
by Animegirl1129
Summary: Greg gets some interesting news. Who'll be there to help him out? Sandle, of course...Part 2 of 'A New Day's Dawn' Series. Completed.
1. Phone Call

**LINGER**

Characters are not mine… this fic has been sitting in my closet for several months, I can't seem to get anywhere on Collide, Alone, a Tale of two friends, or well… anything for that matter, so I figured I'd type this up. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 1:

_It had been a month since the lab explosion that had landed Greg in the hospital for several days with varying degrees of burns. _

_An article had been published in the paper and had listed him as the seriously injured victim. And, because of that, a phone call had now awakened him several hours earlier than he had planned._

'**Hello?' he said, yawning as he picked up the phone.**

'**Is this a Greg Sanders?' the female voice on the other end of the line asked. **

**He nodded, 'Yeah, I'm Greg. Who is this?'**

**The voice hesitated a moment. 'Do you know a Robin Spencer?'**

'**She died a few years ago. We dated in college.' He told the still unidentified caller.**

'**That's her. We're you aware she had a daughter?' the voice asked, sympathetically.**

'**No I wasn't. Why?' he responded, confused as to where this conversation was going.**

**Again, the voice faltered. 'You're name is on the birth-certificate. We saw your name in the papers and found out how to contact you. I work with child services. Sir, you're daughter has been in foster care since Ms. Spencer died on March 25th, 2000.' **

**Greg was unable to speak. 'What's her name?' he asked the first question that came to mind. **

'**Elicia Robin Sanders is what's on her file'**

**He nodded, '_that sounds like something Robin would do_,' he thought to himself. 'When's her birthday?'**

**After a brief shuffling of papers the woman responded. 'December 17th, 1995.'**

'**_That'd be about right'_ he thought to himself. The last time he'd seen Robin had been February 14th, 1995. Valentine's Day. 'Umm… can I get her out of foster care?' his mind was screaming at him, he found himself wondering what he was doing.**

'**After we clear you as a fit environment' the woman replied and launched into an explanation of the processes involved.**

**He cut her off. 'That's okay. I know the details- I'm a C.S.I. at the LVPD crime lab.' He told her.**

'**Very well then, I'll fax you the papers. I'm sorry, but I have to go now,' she said.**

'**Do me a favor will you?' he asked. 'Tell her I love her.' He smiled to himself.**

'**Will do, sir. Nice talking to you.' **

'**Same to you,' he replied and hung up, letting the tears fall.**

**After composing himself, he reached for the phone again, hitting the first number on his speed-dial. He knew she'd been in foster care when she was little, he didn't know why yet, but he knew she could help him. 'Sara…' he said as she picked up her end of the line. **

* * *

**That's Chapter 1 for you. I'll be typing for a while and posting as I go so please… REVIEW!**


	2. Thoughts

**LINGER**

Characters are not mine… this fic has been sitting in my closet for several months, I can't seem to get anywhere on Collide, Alone, a Tale of two friends, or well… anything for that matter, so I figured I'd type this up. Enjoy! I'll be switching POV's a bit here, so sorry in advance for the confusion.

* * *

Chapter 2: 

It had been almost a month since the woman from child services had called; informing him that he had a daughter in foster care. He had offered to take her in, since she was his daughter and today was the day he was supposed to find out if he could.

Sara came into the break room at the crime lab, handing him an envelope. "Just got here," she smiled, sitting across from him at the table.

He tore at the paper, eager to read the information about her and if he could gain custody of her.

"YES!" he yelled, reading over the letter from the foster agency again, handing it to Sara and reaching for a small picture that had been included. "Look," he said, handing her the photo.

Sara smiled at the picture of the brown eyed, dirty-blonde haired little girl.

* * *

Elicia's POV

I can't believe I get to meet my daddy soon! I always wanted to ask mommy what he was like and why he wasn't here but then she went away and it was too late. I'd hoped he'd come get me and take me away. But, no. Shane and Brianna did.

Brianna is really nice as long as I do what she tells me to. And Shane is mean. He drinks a lot and always stinks like the car did when it crashed and mommy left. I don't think Shane likes me very much either. I just want my daddy.

I can't wait until I meet him! I hope he likes me. I wonder if I look like him? I have so many questions. All I want is someone who loves me like mommy did.

I know! I'll write my daddy a letter!

Dear Daddy,

I've waited so long to meet you. I'm seven years old and in second grade. It's so much fun! Only a few more days til I get to see you! I can't wait!

Love, Elicia

I asked the nice lady who came to take my picture to give him my letter. She promised she would and told me that my daddy said to tell me that he loved me already. I was so happy, I think I jumped about a foot in the air.

* * *

Greg POV

Sara has been helping me a lot lately. She's been over after shift quite often, helping me set-up Elicia's room. I've sworn her to secrecy; she's the only one who knows about her. I'm glad I have her as such a good friend and hope maybe we can become more.

I still have Elicia's photo and letter with me. I almost cried when I first read her letter, and she looks so much like me, it's scary. I can't wait until I can hug her and spoil her rotten.

* * *

Elicia's POV

"Hey, Shane! Brianna! Guess what!" I yelled, probably a little too loudly as I ran down the stairs from my room.

"What?" Shane barked, downing another can of whatever he was drinking.

I exclaimed happily. "My daddy wants me to come live with him! He wants me to meet him where he works tomorrow." I cheered happily.

The stinging sensation across my face was soon replaced by the pain of the blow to my stomach. 'Not again' I thought.

I felt Shane grab me by the back of my shirt, holding me easily off the ground. "Spill one word about what goes on in my house and I'll kill you and you're dead beat dad. Go pack!" he growled, shoving me in the direction of the stairs.

'Who is he to judge my daddy?' I thought protectively. I stomped up to my room, finding a nice looking bruise on my stomach and a light handprint on my face. "Only a few more hours," I told myself, before falling onto my bed.

* * *

_**Another chapter done… that was longer, and if Elicia sounds way too mature shoot me… I'm not good at seven year olds POV's… I'll get to work on the next chapter… REVIEW!**_


	3. Meeting Elicia

**LINGER**

Characters are not mine… this fic has been sitting in my closet for several months, I can't seem to get anywhere on Collide, Alone, a Tale of two friends, or well… anything for that matter, so I figured I'd type this up. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3:

The next morning came and Elicia was more than ready to go. Greg had been told that her current foster parents would drop her off at the lab around noon.

Nick, who knew absolutely nothing of the situation, was in the lobby of the crime lab when a small girl, a little younger than Catherine's daughter Lindsey, walked up to him, tugging on the tail of his shirt.

"Are you my daddy?" she asked him. Nick didn't immediately register what she had asked.

"What?" he asked.

"Um… I'm looking for my daddy." She told him.

Nick sighed, "I'm not your dad, princess, but, I'll help you find him. My name's Nick. What's yours?" he asked her.

"Elicia," she replied.

Nick had been hoping for more information. "That's a very pretty name, Elicia." She smiled at him. "Do you know your last name?"

She shook her head. "Not my real one."

He shrugged, taking her hand, "Follow me," he said and led her toward Grissom's office. "Hey, Gris?" he poked his head in the doorway.

Gil looked up from the files he'd been sifting through. "Who's she?" he asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Her name is Elicia. She's looking for her father." Nick explained, not all that up to date on the details of what appeared to be his next case.

"Is he… missing?" Grissom asked, setting the file down.

The little girl spoke up. "My case worker said my real daddy worked here and he'd take me home with him. I don't know his name…" she explained.

"Shall I parade her around the lab and see if anyone recognizes her?" Nick asked.

Grissom laughed. "You do that, Nicky." He said, leaving his office.

Nick took Elicia's hand again, proceeding down the hallway. "Where's your mom at?" he asked.

The little girl frowned. "She died and went to heaven a few years ago. They said they found my daddy cause his name was in the paper or something. They called him and he said he wanted me to come live with him." She told him as they walked past the newly renovated DNA lab.

"Hey, Nick!" Greg yelled, noticing the girl from the photo in his pocket standing beside Nick.

Nick turned into the lab. "Greggo! Do you know who this little one is? Name's Elicia, says she's looking for her dad." Nick said.

Greg gulped. "Um… Nick. That'd be me… Elicia is my daughter."

Hearing this, Nick doubled over in laughter. "Yeah… right… Dude! You're serious!" Nick stood up and shut up; noticing the fact that Greg only appeared to be laughing at the shocked expression on his face. "I'll just be going now…" he said, and turned to leave the lab.

Elicia walked over to him. "You're my daddy?" she asked, staring into brown eyes that matched her own. He nodded and was practically tackled as she hugged him.

Greg picked her up and held her close as he went in search of Grissom, unfortunately bumping into Catherine along the way. Lindsey was also with her as she had just come back from a dentist appointment and would be going home soon.

"What did I miss?" Cath asked, Lindsey stepping in front of her.

"Cath... this is my daughter, Elicia. Elicia, this is Aunt Catherine and her daughter, Lindsey, she's your age" he introduced them.

Lindsey stepped forward, eager to finally have someone to play with, "Hi!" she said happily.

Elicia just clung tighter to her father. "Hello," Elicia mumbled shyly, Catherine still gaping at the news.

Sara also appeared, spotting the little girl she walked over to Greg. "You must be Elicia." She smiled.

Elicia nodded.

"Why do you know this, Sara?" Cath asked, confused.

Sara sighed, "Greg asked for my help, I told him I wouldn't tell anyone, I didn't" she said, Standing beside Greg. "I would suppose that I'm Aunt Sara. And it's nice to meet you"

Again, Elicia mumbled a slightly less shy, "Hello."

Warrick and Grissom entered the lab, "Hey, Greg. Did you get that sample back from t--" Grissom cut himself off when he saw the little girl from earlier had apparently permanently attached herself to Greg's lab coat. He turned to Nick, who had just stepped out of the Ballistics lab down the hall, "You left her with Greg... this accomplishes finding her father how...?" he asked, annoyed.

"I already found her father," Nick stated, flipping through the file in his hands.

"Who was it? Where are they...?"

"Oh... he's about 6' 1'' Likes scuba diving, surfing, Manson, and tends to dislike being as referred to as an Eggo waffle" he listed these several points off on his hand, leaving Grissom gaping at Greg.

Sara leaned over, "It's the one she has decided to refuse to let go of..." she whispered in his ear

Grissom laughed, "No...Really, who's her dad?"

The little girl let a tear fall, "He is my daddy…" she said, clinging tighter to Greg.

Greg smiled. "Could I have the rest of the night off, Grissom? I need to get her settled in. I have a week off starting tomorrow and it's a slow night," he asked.

Grissom nodded, watching Greg carry this mysterious little girl out of the lab, leaving several dumb-founded CSI's in his wake after muttering a quick 'thanks'.

* * *

_**Okay… another rather long Chapter… that's all I got for now so, I'll get back to work on the manuscript and update again soon… REVIEW!**_


	4. Questions

**LINGER**

Characters are not mine… this fic has been sitting in my closet for several months, I can't seem to get anywhere on Collide, Alone, a Tale of two friends, or well… anything for that matter, so I figured I'd type this up. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 4:

"We'll stop at home then go get something to eat and go shopping, okay, sweetie?" Greg asked, pulling up outside his medium sized condo.

Once inside he led her down the hall to where her room would soon be. "I figured I'd let you pick out what you wanted in your room so there's not much in there right now," he told her, taking off the lab coat he had forgotten to put in his locker.

She nodded. "I get my own room?" she asked.

Greg looked at her. "Of course you do! Didn't you have one at your foster home?" he saw her cringe.

"Yeah, more like a closet than a room…" she told him as he ducked into his room to change, emerging a moment later with several questions for her foster parents on his mind.

They headed back out to his dark blue, Chevy Tahoe. "Hungry, Elicia?" he asked.

She nodded, "Yeah."

Several minutes later Greg pulled into a small diner that the team usually frequented. The staff knew them by name.

"What can I get for you, Greg?" the waiter asked. "And who's this little one?"

Greg smiled. "My daughter, Elicia. I'll take my usual. Elicia?" he looked down at her.

"Um… can I get a hotdog?" she asked, shyly.

"Sure ya can," Greg told her. The waiter nodded and walked off. "What kinds of things do you like do to?" he asked her.

She smiled. "I like soccer and horses." She told him.

"I liked soccer, too." He told her, smiling as two glasses of water arrived.

She looked up at him. "Really? Did you ever play?"

He sighed. "I wasn't quite good enough to get on the team. I'm sure you're much better at it than I was, though." He smiled, their food arriving.

"They told me they found you cause you're name was in the papers after something happened, what was it?" she asked, curiously.

He sighed; he was still having nightmares about the explosion. "That place we were at before," she nodded, understanding. "It exploded and I got hurt," he told her truthfully. He still had several bandages on his back.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said, hugging him. "Do you like that Sara lady?" she asked, taking a bite of her hot-dog.

Greg, caught off guard by the question, nodded. "How'd you figure that out?"

Elicia smiled. "I noticed how the two of you look at each other." She said simply.

"Wow, You're very observant…" he said, surprised.

"Mommy used to tell me that…"

"You miss her, huh?" he asked.

She nodded. "I always hoped you'd come get me."

He picked her up as they left the diner. "If I had known I had a daughter, I would've been there in a heartbeat."

Elicia smiled, wrapping her arms around her father's neck.

"Now," he said. "Lets go get your room squared away." He set her in the backseat of his car.

Several minutes later they arrived at the local mall. Greg took her hand as they walked into the semi-crowded hallway, heading towards one of the main department stores.

* * *

_**Okay…. This chapter was originally longer but it never would've ended so I cut it off here. I'll be working on CH5 REVIEW!**_


	5. The Park

**LINGER**

Characters are not mine… this fic has been sitting in my closet for several months, I can't seem to get anywhere on Collide, Alone, a Tale of two friends, or well… anything for that matter, so I figured I'd type this up. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5:

After several hours, a quick stop for ice-cream and an amusing display of watching Greg try to balance several large bags without falling; they finally made it back home.

Greg fell back onto the couch, setting several bags down. Elicia smiled and sat next to him, cuddling against him, quickly falling asleep from the events of the day.

He looked down at the bags scattered about the floor, reaching for his cell phone. "Hey, Sara." He said quietly into the receiver. "I know you just got off work, but I was wondering if you wanted to help me set up Elicia's room?" he asked.

"_Sure, Greggo. I'll be right over," _she told him.

Greg smiled doing a little mental happy dance. "Great," he said. "See ya then!"

Several minutes later Sara arrived, gaping at the pile of bags on the floor. "Jeez, Greg. Did you leave anything in the store?" she teased.

He laughed, glancing at the little girl still soundly asleep on the couch.

"Where do you want to start?" she asked.

He grabbed the nearest bag. "Let's just get everything sorted out first…" he suggested, pulling out several horse stuffed animals.

Sara smiled. "Lemme guess… she LOVES horses?"

"Nice observation Sherlock," he grinned back.

It took a while but Sara and Greg finally finished decorating Elicia's room. Horse posters, sheets, pillow, plushies, books, and more were now in arather organized order in the room.

"That took forever," Sara said, accepting the cup of coffee he offered her.

He smiled. "I'll go get her," and moved beside the couch. He shook her awake. "Hey, Elicia. I've got a surprise for you." He said, lifting her into his arms and walking toward her room.

He set her down outside the door, pushing it open, kneeling beside her. The little girl gaped and turned to face him, slinging her arms around his neck. "Thanks Daddy!" she smiled happily.

"Sara helped me, too," he said as she appeared from around the corner, grinning as well.

Sara was rather surprised when two little arms latched onto her waist, hugging her as well. "Thanks, Sara!" she said, much less shy than she had been at the lab.

"I have an idea," Greg said, turning to Sara and Elicia. "How bout the three of us go to the park?"

Elicia's eyes seemed to light up. "Can we?" she asked.

Sara nodded her agreement as Greg scooped her up again. "Let's go," he said, smiling, grabbing Sara's hand and pulling them all outside.

* * *

Greg and Sara sat on the bench by the swing set where Elicia was playing.

"I'm glad you decided to join us," Greg said.

Sara smiled. "And let you have all the fun?" getting up and walking over toward the swings and taking the one beside Elicia.

After a moment Greg got up and joined them, giving each of them a slight push in the process. He smiled; sitting on the swing on Elicia's other side. "Having fun?" he asked.

She nodded, smiling. "A blast."

"I'm glad," he replied.

After a while Elicia finished swinging and wandered over to the jungle gyms, Greg and Sara leaning against the bars.

Talking amongst themselves while keeping an eye on Elicia, several more minutes passed.

"Sara," Elicia said, now standing in front of her. "Can you fix my hair tie?"

Sara smiled, "Sure, sweetie," and took the hair scrunchie the little girl offered. "Turn around."

Elicia did as she was asked, and Sara began pulling her dirty blonde hair into a high pony-tail.

Sara hesitated a moment, spotting deep purple bruises on the back of the girls neck. "Greg," she nudged his arm.

He looked down and spotted the bruises. Elicia turned to face them. "What happened, baby?" he asked, pulling her into his arms.

* * *

_**I think I'll be evil and stop there… I'll update again soon… REVIEW!**_


	6. Confrontation

**LINGER**

Characters are not mine… this fic has been sitting in my closet for several months, I can't seem to get anywhere on Collide, Alone, a Tale of two friends, or well… anything for that matter, so I figured I'd type this up. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6:

"I can't tell," she replied, clinging to his shirt.

He looked up at Sara who looked just as concerned as he did. "You can tell us, Elicia." Sara said, kneeling beside them.

"I'm not allowed to tell!" Elicia told them.

Greg held her in his arms. "I won't let them hurt you again, Elicia, but you have to tell us who hurt your neck."

She shook her head. "I don't want him to hurt you, daddy. He said he'd kill you if I told."

"Who did, sweetie?" Greg asked.

She frowned, "I can't tell," she repeated.

Sara spoke up again. "We can send him away. Your daddy works with the police, we can send him to jail, he won't be able to hurt you again." She assured her, hoping it would work.

Elicia nodded.

"Tell us who it was, Elicia." Greg asked again.

"Shane." She said, and collapsed into her fathers arms in tears.

Greg rocked her in his arms. "It's okay, baby. I won't let anyone hurt you again." He promised.

Sara stood up, pulling out her phone to call Brass to identify this 'Shane'.

* * *

After several hours Brass had identified Shane as Elicia's foster parent before she'd been returned to Greg. Shane Radcliffe was his name and he was now sitting across from Sara and Brass in the interrogation room.

"Elicia Sanders." Sara said. "Do tell us why we found bruises on the back of her neck, will you?"

He glared at her. "How should I know?"

Brass stepped in. "She lived with you for three years!"

"Oh," he sighed. "You mean the brat… she's a trouble maker…"

Sara and Brass were both glaring at him, if looks could kill this guy would be dead and buried.

"I saw that little girl. She's no problem child." Sara defended.

He rolled his eyes. "Then maybe it was her dead beat dad, ever think of that?"

Sara got in the guys face. "I know her father, he'd never hurt her…" she was cut off before she could continue.

"That girl was a brat." He stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

Before anyone could say anything else the door flew open, a very steamed Greg walked in, glaring at Shane. "The 'brat' you are referring to is my daughter. I would highly suggest answering the nice detective's questions honestly." Greg said, staring the guy straight in the eye.

"Greg," Sara said, placing a hand on his shoulder to keep him from doing anything stupid.

"Fine…" Shane huffed. "I did it," he leaned forward. "What are you gonna do about it?" He locked eyes with Greg, watching his reaction.

Sara answered before Greg could. "Send you to jail," she replied, pulling Greg out of the room with her.

"Don't let him get to you Greg," she said.

He stared at her. "He beat up my baby and you expect me not to want to use my knowledge of forensics and the fact that I know how to hide a body to my advantage?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "No, trust me; I'd want him gone too. But that wouldn't solve anything except taking you away from Elicia. You have to be strong for her."

"I know you're right," he said, nodding. "I can't go of what he did to her though. She was there for three years, imagine the hell she went through…" he said.

Sara did something neither she or Greg expected and pulled him into a hug.

* * *

_**Okay…. That seems like a good place to stop, and no, this is not the end of Shane, oh ho no… REVIEW!**_


	7. A Dark Past

**LINGER**

Characters are not mine… this fic has been sitting in my closet for several months, I can't seem to get anywhere on Collide, Alone, a Tale of two friends, or well… anything for that matter, so I figured I'd type this up. Enjoy! You guys have really good suggestions. My brain didn't immediately register the fact that Sara had been abused too…

* * *

Chapter 7:

Greg and Sara now sat on Greg's couch, Elicia sleeping between them.

"Can I tell you something, Greg?" Sara asked, looking down at the little girl who reminded her of herself at that age.

He nodded silently. "Always, Sara."

She smiled at him. "I know what Elicia's going through…"

"What?" he asked, rather surprised with this information and honored that she trusted him with it.

She looked down, suddenly finding the carpet rather interesting. "My dad…" she started. "He lost his job when I was eight. He couldn't get a new one and started beating my mom. Eventually he started hitting me, too. After a year my mother had had enough and stabbed him, several times. She was convicted and I was put into custody of the state, jumping around foster homes. I've never told anyone before you.

(Hey… this is supposed to be after Play With Fire so… Grissom wouldn't have heard this story yet… and I find it rather creepy that Sara and Elicia were pretty much the same age…which I apparently just realized….)

Greg was silent for a moment, processing that information. A sense of pride for what she must have had to overcome to get to where she was today surging through him. "You are absolutely amazing," he said finally.

Sara smiled, relieved that he hadn't expressed how sorry he was for a past that couldn't be changed.

"So, that's why you take domestic abuse cases so hard?" he asked, putting two and two together.

She nodded. "Yeah. No one's ever bothered to ask me why before…" she said.

"Until now," he smiled. "I'll always be here to listen."

Elicia shifted in her sleep, leaning against Sara's side. She wrapped her arm around the little girl. "She's had a long day…"

He nodded in agreement. "Oh, yeah. That's an understatement." He stood up, gently lifting Elicia into his arms, her arms instinctively wrapping around his neck. "I'll be right back," he told Sara before taking his daughter to her room.

She nodded and stood up as well.

"I should probably go," she said when he returned a moment later.

He stood in front of her. "Thanks for telling me about your past. I'm glad you trust me with it." He smiled.

"Only you, Greggo." She said. "Only you."

He pulled her into a hug. "I'm glad," he whispered. She leaned up, her lips lightly brushing against his. Greg's forehead rested against hers, he leaned down and kissed her again, her arms moving around his neck.

They smiled as they broke apart. "See ya tomorrow," she said, smiling as she walked out the front door.

"See ya," he replied.

Little did either of them know, a little girl stood in the hallway, grinning like crazy.

* * *

**_Okay, a kiss, and Elicia saw it I had to include a nice fluffy chapter before the terror that is Shane will return… Thanks for all the reviews!_**


	8. Problems

**LINGER**

**_Characters are not mine… sorry for not updating for a while there_**…

* * *

**Chapter 8**:

"You ready to go, Elicia?" Sara called to the little girl playing on the swings at the park.

Greg had gotten called in to work earlier that evening and Sara had volunteered to watch her for him as she had been off. In the month that had passed since Elicia's arrival and Shane's arrest, Elicia had grown closer to both her and Greg.

"Yeah, Sara!" she replied, running over to her.

Sra quickly moved to her side as Elicia fell on the pavement. "You okay, sweetie?" she asked, rolling up the leg of Elicia's jeans to the knee.

Elicia was silent, Sara mentally noting her rather high tolerance for pain.

The cut wasn't bad, but it was bleeding a bit so Sara lifted her into her arms and proceeded to her car for the first-aid kit in the back.

"Better?" Sara asked, setting her on the ground once the scrape was bandaged.

Elicia nodded. "Thanks, Sara."

"Freeze." A deep male voice ordered from behind them. Both of them did, feeling the barrel of a gun pressed against her skull. "Get in the car."

"What's going on, Sara?" Elicia asked, attaching herself to Sara's side as she climbed in beside the little girl.

Sara held Elicia close, knowing full well who had just climbed into the driver's seat. "It'll be okay, baby." She whispered, attempting to reassure her.

Elicia just held on tighter to Sara.

* * *

Greg was getting worried. Sara was definitely supposed to be back from the park with Elicia by now.

"Where are they?' he asked, pacing the floor of his apartment as he dialed her cell phone.

There was no answer.

A wave of fear swept through him. "Something's wrong…" His gut told him that something had happened and he would find out what.

He grabbed his coat and headed out the door.

"Sara! Elicia!" he called into the empty park, it was only about nine am and only a handful of people were there.

He approached a woman sitting on a bench nearby. "Excuse me," he said. "Have you seen a little girl who looks kind of like me and or a woman with brown hair around here anywhere?"

The woman shook her head.

"Thanks," Greg said, walking away to survey the play ground once before he got desperate and called in Brass.

Elicia's teddy bear, which she had so aptly name 'Ted-Ted' and was her constant companion lay on the bench several feet away.

"Okay. I know she'd never leave that behind." He said, picking it up. He headed towards the parking lot, seeing if there was anything useful there.

Greg spotted something silver near one of the open spaces. "please don't let that be a cell phone…" he said to himself, but found that it was. Sara's cell phone, to be more precise.

"Please, let them be okay." He said to himself as he called to inform Grissom of this new situation.

* * *

_**Okay… good place to stop… Not sure if I'm gonna update A Tale Of Two Friends or not, but I'll try. Assuming this actually gets posted tonight… stupid computer… Review! Nope, I didn't update ATo2F, sorry bout that...**_


	9. What would you have me do!

**LINGER**

**_Characters are not mine… sorry for not updating for a while there_**… **_Thanks for all the reviews!

* * *

_**

Chapter 9:

Greg was in complete hysterics by the time the rest of the team arrived. And no one could blame him. Both Sara and Elicia were missing and there didn't seem to be any clues to where they'd been taken.

"Greg!" Grissom yelled, trying to get the younger mans attention as he paced frantically in front of the park entrance, attempting to hold back tears in front of his colleagues.

He looked up at Grissom. "We have to find them," he said, choking back a sob.

Grissom nodded, offering no words of false hope. He knew just as well as did Greg who had them. Reserving judgment wasn't going to work this time. There wasn't enough time. Not when he knew Shane had made bail the previous night.

He pulled out his cell, calling detective Brass who had not yet arrived on the scene. "Jim. Put an APB out on Shane Radcliffe."

That got Greg's attention. "He's out?"

Grissom hung up after Brass agreed to the APB. "Yes, Greg. He made bail last night."

"Who the hell authorized that!" he yelled. It had taken the guy a month to make bail, he'd been pretty sure it wasn't happening.

"You need to calm down!" Grissom replied. "You aren't helping."

Greg glared at him. "May daughter and my best friend are missing." He choose to leave out the fact that he and Sara had been dating pretty regularly, although Elicia had joined them on these 'dates' he knew Grissom still wouldn't take it well. "What would you have me do?"

Grissom sighed. "Anything but what you are doing."

"Sara…" Elicia sounded upset as she tugged on her hand as the car finally came to stop after what seemed like hours.

Sara looked around, seeing that they were definitely off the strip, probably bordering on the desert. "Where are we?" she asked, daring to speak to the man in the front, whom she suspected to be Shane.

"Shut up," he growled, pulling Sara from the car, Elicia still attached to her arm.

Someone else approached the car, lifting a squirming Elicia into their arms.

"Sara!" the little girl cried, frantically trying to get to her friend.

However, Sara couldn't do very much to help as the man had her at gunpoint again. "Let Elicia go!" Sara begged, watching as Greg's little girl managed to elbow her captor in the ribs and squirm a few feet away.

Sara struggled against the man's grasp, holding Elicia close, knowing there was nowhere for her to run for help. "Do what they say, Elicia…" she whispered into the little girls ear. "Do what they say and your Daddy'll be able to save us."

She felt Elicia nod as she stood up straight, pulling Elicia into her arms, gun still pressed into her back.

"We'll do what you want." She agreed, feeling the gun back off a bit. She regretted having to give up so easily but she wasn't about to do something that would put Elicia at risk.

The man led them to an abandoned house; she had noticed it on the way to where the car stopped and had taken care to drag her heels, quite literally to give the team, assuming they got this far, a hint.

"Why are you doing this?" Sara asked, still holding Elicia tightly in her arms as they walked into the house.

"You should know. You're the one who sent me to jail. Along with the brat's father." That had confirmed it. The man was, without a doubt, Shane.

* * *

_**Okay… seems like a good place to stop for now… I'll be editing the second Chapter of 'I Will Never Be With You' so again, I won't be sleeping tonight. I'm so glad I'm nocturnal…. Hey I'd be great working night shift at CSI… hehehe…. Review!**_


	10. Believe

**LINGER**

**_Characters are not mine… sorry for not updating for a while there_**… **_Thanks for all the reviews!

* * *

_**

Chapter 10:

Elicia was starting to get worried. Sara could tell by the look on the little girls face as they were locked in a dark room in the abandoned house.

"Sara," she whispered, crawling into the older woman's lap. "I'm scared. He said if I told he'd hurt daddy."

Rocking Elicia gently in her arms, holding her close, Sara shushed her "It'll be okay, your Daddy'll come get us." she reassured the girl. "I hope," she added silently.

The unusual quiet in the room was unnerving- compared to the loud hustle and bustle of the Vegas Strip- , most of Nevada was desert and she had no idea where they were, though she was pretty sure they were still somewhere near Las Vegas, the outskirts of it maybe, though that wouldn't help anyone find them as they had no way of knowing even a relative location of where to look.

The door opened, drawing the two captives attention. "Enjoying my hospitality?" Shane's voice asked, though he was still lost in the darkness of the room.

Sara scoffed, holding Elicia tight. "What do you want?" she mumbled.

He 'tsked' her, chuckling a bit as her eyes finally adjusted to the light and she could make out his figure in front of them, along with the shiny metallic barrel of a gun. "If I were you, I'd let me do the talking."

If possible Greg was even more hostile and defensive now that they actually had a lead. Sara's cell phone had one missed call on it, the number was blocked but Archie was working on it. Everyone at the lab had already been ruled out as the caller and there wasn't really anyone else who called it.

Assuming the person -presumably Shane- hadn't ditched the cell and had left it on, they could track it, or at least figure out where the call was made form and get a relative location out of it. Apparently Shane had some motive for calling it. The question was -What might that be?

He was pacing the break room floor now, Elicia's teddy bear in his arms. Nick and Warrick who were currently on a brief coffee break watched as Greg wore a hole in the carpet.

"Dude, can you knock that off, I've only been in here five minutes and you're making me dizzy..." Nick commented, grabbing Greg by the shoulders and stopping said irritating action.

Greg glared at him but sat down. "Sorry, just a little edgy here..." he mumbled.

The two other men nodded, sitting down on either side of him. "We'll find them." Warrick reassured him, knowing it probably wasn't helping very much.

"How do you know? Elicia said Shane wanted to kill her and me, so why'd he take Sara? Not that I'd want Elicia with him alone, but still. Why'd he bring Sara into it?" the frantic lab tech ranted.

Nick shrugged, Warrick shaking his head. "I dunno, man, but, you gotta believe they're still alive. Sara'll keep your little girl safe."

"Yeah, I know that." Greg replied, his head in hsi hands. "But who'll keep Sara safe?"

* * *

_**I know... that was short... again... but if I didn't end it there this chapter would've gone on forever, I'll update again soon! Review!**_


	11. The Cavalry Arrives!

**LINGER**

**_Characters are not mine… sorry for not updating for a while there_**… **_Thanks for all the reviews!

* * *

_**

Chapter 10:

Greg wandered into the A/V lab where Archie was busy working on the phone records. "Find anything yet?" he asked, straddling a chair next to the tech.

Archie rolled his eyes. "I might actually accomplish something without people asking me every five minutes..." he mumbled, sending a glare in Greg's general direction.

He sighed, "Sorry, I'll shut up."

"Good," Archie replied, and resumed typing at slightly inhuman speed, bringing up the mobile company's phone records. "We should be able to trace the number to one of the towers, then we can pinpoint a relative circumference of where the phone is in relation to other towers. And hopefully that's where Sara and Elicia are."

Greg nodded, his eyes on the screen.

After a few more moments, Archie's attention drifted from the screen. "Henderson. The phone's transmission is coming from an address in Henderson."

By the time Archie glanced over his shoulder Greg was making a sharp turn into Grissom office yelling 'We have a lead!' at the top of his lungs.

The lab tech shook his head, rolling his eyes at Greg's behavior before turning back to the screens in front of him.

* * *

Elicia and Sara were still at gunpoint, Shane hovering just out of their sight, the silver gun barrel, though, was quite visible, the single beam of light in the room, landing on the metallic surface, reflecting it back at them.

"What are we waiting for?" Sara asked, the little girl clinging to her neck.

Shane growled, irritated that she was still talking. "The calvary." he replied, smugly before stepping forward and grabbing Elicia.

The little girl shrieked, clawing at her opponent's arm. "Let me go!" she wailed, kicking and screaming. A hand collided with her stomach, temporarily silencing her.

"Be quiet, brat." Shane growled, throwing her back at Sara. "Be good and I'll be nice and kill your dad before I kill you."

Sara glared at him. "Don't you dare hurt them." she stood up. "You beat a defenseless little kid. You got caught. That little girl juts happened to be a C.S.I.'s daughter. That C.S.I. happens to be my best friend. You mess with them, you go after me, too." she growled, approaching him.

He just laughed. "Who has the gun in this scenario?" A bullet was chambered.

* * *

"Damn! Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!" Greg cursed, the address Archie had provided them with was the Radcliffe house in Henderson, where Elicia had spent the last three years. They decided on searching the house all the same, in hopes for a clue that would lead them to Sara and Elicia.

Grissom had suggested Greg not help process the house. He was way too temperamental right now. Nick and Warrick watched him punch the door frame before sitting on the concrete steps in front of the house, knees pulld up to his chest, head in his hands.

"I hope we find something, soon." Nick said, heading upstairs while Warrick took the main floor.

Several minutes passed and nothing relevant had been found. Warrick approached Greg, having covered his assigned area. "Hey man," he said, sitting beside him. "How ya holding up."

The younger man sighed, "I just want them back." he replied, his voice now void of emotion.

"And you'll get them back. Found something." Nick's voice said from behind them.

* * *

The bullet exited the gun, aimed just behind Sara, off to the left a bit. "No!" Sara shouted, moving in front of Elicia, the intended target.

She could hear the little girl scream, feel the searing pain at the base of her leg, smell the all too familiar metallic scent of blood. She was leaning against the wall, Elicia in her arms again.

Shane scowled, yet choose to exit the room. "No one'll find you in time." he said before leaving them in darkness again.

Elicia was holding back tears as she watched Sara examined the wound to her thigh, the bullet was still in her leg, acting as a cork for the blood flow. Even still Sara applied pressure to the wound, wincing slightly as she did so.

"Are you okay, Sara?" Elicia asked, as Sara looked her over, making sure that the little girl was okay.

She nodded. "I will be."

* * *

"What have you got?" Greg asked, jumping up and turning to face Nick.

The Texan in question held up a piece of paper. "The Radcliffes own some piece of desert a little ways out. They have pictures of a house on the property, that might be where Sara and Elicia are being held."

He ran toward the Tahoe. "What are you waiting for! Let's go!" Greg called to them.

Warrick shook his head. "We still gotta follow procedure. Radio for back-up."

Greg snorted, shaking his head, but did so anyway.

* * *

"Sara?" Elicia asked,several minutes later. "What's wrong?"

Her wound was bleeding substantially now. She hoped that the bullet hadn't punctured her femoral artery, lest she'd be dead by the time anyone got here. "I'll be okay." she replied, wincing again.

Elicia hugged her. "Is daddy gonna come save us soon?" she asked.

"I hope so, sweetie." Sara replied, hugging the girl back.

* * *

"There it is!" Greg yelled, pointing a fair ways off in the distance as he, Nick, Warrick and Brass drove toward the Radcliffe's other property.

Nick rolled his eyes. "You know how difficult it is to drive with you yelling in my ear every three seconds?"

Greg sat back, biting his lip to keep from yelling again.

"How are we doing this?" Warrick asked, leaning forward to ask Brass.

The detective sighed. "We'll assess the situation as soon as possible. SWAT's behind us."

A half an hour later the perimeter of the house was scoped out, SWAT was in position and they had a working line in the house.

"Let's hope this works." Brass said, picking up the phone. "Shane Radcliffe, this is Detective Brass. Wonderful way to ensure your bail gets revoked." he said sarcastically when their perp picked up his end of the line. "This is when you tell us what you want."

Shane scoffed on his end of the line, returning to the room he was holding Elicia and Sara in. "I want that C.S.I. in here, the brats father."

Brass shook his head. "Not gonna happen."

"Okay, suit yourself," he chambered another bullet. "One of 'ems already down, won't take much to kill her."

Greg's eyes went wide upon hearing this. "I'll go in," he told Brass. "To hell with procedure."

Jim shook his head again. "Sanders..." he growled, "If you die in there, I'm gonna kill you..."

After Greg was deemed as fit to go inside as the present conditions would allow and was packing a standard police issue handgun, he was escorted up to the door of the building. "Remember Sanders, I don't like this idea..." Brass said, in one last attempt at keeping the man from doing this.

"Where would you be if it were Eliie?" he replied.

The older man sighed. "Inside. Point well taken." he nodded, putting a hand on Greg's shoulder. "Just... be careful."

* * *

_**Wow... that was long... So, will Sara be okay? Will Elicia? Will Greg? I'm not entirely sure yet so... Review and find out!**_


	12. Screams edited version

**LINGER**

_**Characters are not mine… Thanks for all the reviews!

* * *

**_

Chapter 12:

The first thing Greg saw upon entering the house was darkness. There was nothing to suggest that anyone had been inside here for a good while. "Elicia! Sara!" he called out the open door drawing Greg's attention.

"Daddy!" he could hear her voice from inside and slowly approached, easing the door open.

He walked in to find Shane holding Elicia back, Sara still on the ground several feet away, attempting to move. "What did you do to them?" he asked, his voice deep and concerned for the safety of those he loved.

Shane grinned. "Nothing." he replied, but he chambered another bullet, aiming at Sara but still holding the little girl. "Yet."

He took a step closer, the gun turned on him. "Don't move." Shane growled.

"Okay." Greg nodded, stopping. "What do you want?"

He laughed. "I don't _want_ anything. Except to watch you suffer."

Greg glared at the man, Elicia was still squirming and he watched as she bit down on her captor's arm, effectively getting out of his grip.

"Elicia!" Greg cried, reaching for the girl as she ran from Shane.

The chambered bullet exited the gun and the events following occurred in what seemed like slow motion.

There was an ear-splitting scream as Elicia landed in Greg's arms. He watched as Sara somehow managed to get enough strength, despite the now obvious wound to her leg, to tackle Shane, who fell to the ground, his gun knocked across the floor. The problem being that Sara wasn't getting up. Elicia clung to his chest and had no intention of letting go anytime in the near future.

The next thing he knew a vast amount of people were in the room. Brass was dragging Shane out. SWAT was clearing the house, and a paramedic had pulled Elicia away from him to be checked. Sara was also trapped in the chaos .

"You okay?" Brass asked him, approaching.

He nodded, his eyes focused on the ambulance a few yards away. "I couldn't protect them."

Bras sighed. "What happened in there?"

Greg choked back tears. "I walked in. Sara was on the ground, Shane was holding Elicia away. We talked, for all of thirty seconds. Elicia bit him, ran, Sara dove on top of him, the gun went off. Then... it all happened so fast." he said, letting the tears fall now.

"Hey," one of the medics called to him. "Are you riding?"

Greg nodded, jogging toward the awaiting vehicle and climbing in the back. Elicia was there, too. He reached over and pulled her into his arms. "It'll be okay, baby." he whispered, hoping that would be true.

He looked over at Sara, the steady 'beep' of the EKG machine was the only thing that told him she was still breathing, for she wasn't moving as they started for the hospital, quite a ways away.

* * *

**_Again, my insanely evil ways tell me to stop there. I couldn't resist injuring someone... I'll update again soon! Keep reviewing!_** **_And I chose to re-do this chapter, it wasn't working out the way I wanted with Elicia injured so, yeah. _**


	13. Hospital Edited Version

**LINGER**

_**Characters are not mine… Thanks for all the reviews!

* * *

**_

Chapter 13:

The drive to Desert Palms was excruciatingly long. The EMT's were monitoring Sara's stats, had stuck an oxygen mask on her, and were pretty sure a lung was, if not had already, started to collapse. Greg was understandably panicked by the outcome of the hostage situation and was still holding onto Elicia.

Once the vehicle pulled up in the ambulance bay, Sara was wheeled away, into the trauma unit. Greg followed behind them, holding Elicia, refusing to let go of her.

The room was in a mad rush, taking BP's, O2 stats, monitoring breath sounds which were definitely down on the right side, there was no obvious exit site for the bullet that had entered at her eighth rib, fracturing the bone before permeating her lung.

Greg blocked hsi daughters view as he watched as they stuck a chest tube in to drain to blood building up that was keeping her right lung from functioning. "She has to be okay," Greg mumbled as they stabilized Sara's vitals and wheeled her towards the operating room.

They were shooed out of the hallway by one of the nurses.

He carried Elicia back out to the ICU waiting room, and upon finding there was no news yet on Sara, Greg sat down on one of several couches in the room, Elicia leaning against his chest.

"Daddy," she said, looking up at him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry Sara got hurt."

He shook his head. "That wasn't your fault."

She shook her head back. "It wasn't your fault either, Shane is to blame. Sara said you'd come save us. You did, we were lucky." she said.

"I was so scared, for both of you. That I'd never see my little girl again, never see Sara again. I-"

He cut himself off when he saw a doctor walk out of the hall they'd taken Sara down. "Sidle?"

Greg and Elicia stood up abruptly. "How is she?"

"Ugh.. We don't know for sure yet. The bullet punctured a lung, broke a rib, somehow that's all it managed to hit, but there may be some complications..." the doctor continued on.

* * *

**_I re-did this chapter, too. My plan works better with Sara hurt rather than Elicia. I'm ungrounded now so I'll be doing a lot of typing today. _**


	14. Admissions

**LINGER**

_**Characters not mine…unfortunately… oh the possibilities if they were! BTW, High School: A Tale of 2 Friends is on temporary hiatus until I finish some of these other fics.

* * *

**_

**Chapter 14:**

They were lead back to Sara's room a few hours later after a lengthy argument from Greg about hospital policy and children, namely Elicia, being allowed in the room.

"Remember, Sara might be sleeping so we have to be quiet, okay?" he told her again as he pushed the door open.

She was sleeping, or comatose, he couldn't tell at the moment. He watched as Elicia stepped forward slowly.

Greg, noticing her hesitancy lifted his daughter into his arms, taking a seat beside Sara in one of the two chairs, Elicia in his lap. "It's okay." He reassured her.

Elicia climbed onto the bed, sitting beside Sara. "I'm sorry." Was all Greg was able to make out before she curled up next to Sara, avoiding her chest, and managing to drift off to sleep.

"Sleeps probably a good idea." He whispered to himself, taking Sara's hand and attempting to fall asleep himself in the uncomfortable chair. Sleep, however, didn't come. His mind kept replaying the events from earlier, his mind mulling over several other solutions to the situation than the one he'd taken. Some good, some bad. Some formed nightmares that would no doubt plague his mind for a long while.

He sighed, sitting up straight in the chair. "Okay… that rules out sleep." He told himself. Greg forced him mind onto other topics, one of which he'd face when Sara woke up.

"Daddy." Elicia gently tugged on the sleeve of his shirt. "Daddy…"

He yawned, shifting in the chair; apparently he had managed to fall asleep. "What's wrong, sweetie?" he asked her.

She pointed to Sara who was now awake which immediately got his attention. "Sara." He said, relaxing a bit. "We're so glad you're okay."

Sara nodded, the trache tube, which was still in place, prevented her from talking.

"Ooh," he picked up the pad of paper and pen one of the doctors had dropped off earlier in case she woke up. "Here, this might help." He handed it to her and watched a she scribbled something out in her chicken-scratch handwriting.

She held it up for him to see. "You collapsed a lung." Was his answer to why her chest was sore.

They watched as Sara wrote something else down. "Are _we _okay? You're the one who just got shot. Twice. Aside from panicking out in the waiting room, we're just fine." Greg replied, sitting beside Elicia on the now rather crowded bed.

Elicia, being as observant as she was, noticed that both adults seemed to want to talk to each other, or rather write and talk, and she decided to let them. "Daddy? Can I go get a snack form the machine in the hallway?" she asked.

Greg nodded, handing her a few dollar bills for the machine. "Be careful, honey." He told her, watching her walk out the door before turning his attention back to Sara. "I was so scared, fro both of you." He admitted, taking her hand.

'_So was I_' she scribbled onto the paper.

"I don't know what I would have done had I lost one or both of you."

She leaned forward, despite the pain in her ribs and hugged him.

"I love you," he whispered. "You and Elicia mean everything to me."

* * *

_**Sara can't exactly tell him anything at the moment so that's as good a place as any to stop. I was literally up all night writing this and making two videos, and somehow I avoided getting in trouble! Whoot! Review!**_


	15. Perfection

**LINGER**

**_Characters not mine…unfortunately… oh the possibilities if they were! I have decided that this will be the last chapter of this fic, as I can't think of anything else that would tie in correctly... I'm actually turning this into a series so there will be more, I promise.

* * *

_**

**Chapter 15:**

The trache tube was removed the next day, the first thing Sara did was pull Greg into a kiss. "I love you, too." She whispered her voice still hoarse.

Elicia smiled from her place in the doorway, Catherine had offered to take Elicia home with her for the night and had swept the girl out the door before Greg could even protest the previous night and she'd just gotten back.

"Daddy!" she smiled, launching herself into her fathers awaiting arms.

He smiled, pulling her up to sit beside himself and Sara on the hospital bed. "Hey, sweetie."

Elicia smiled, turning to Sara. "Are you feeling better?"

Sara nodded, pulling the little girl against her uninjured side and tickling her until the were both laughing and out of breath.

Greg smiled watching the two of them together. Right now, everything was perfect, aside from them sitting in a hospital, it was all perfect. He had Elicia and Sara and he had no intention of letting them go.

* * *

**_Yeah, that was short, but I was trying to finish it out. I dunno when or what part of the series I'll work on next so… Yeah. But it will be called 'A New Day's Dawn' Series. Review!_**


End file.
